The storms hit LaSalle, Ottawa and Pontiac at about 4:30 p.m. and continued to move east, bringing 150 lightning strikes just before 4 p.m. near Joliet.
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Heavier storms, bringing wind gusts up to 6 mph and rain, moved through Iroquois County, south of Kankakee near I-57 at about 5:30 p.m.
NEARLY 700 FLIGHTS DELAYED
Severe weather on the East Coast Tuesday has caused delays or cancellations for hundreds of flights bound for O'Hare International Airport.
Thunderstorms on the East Coast are causing departure delays averaging about four hours for flights to O'Hare from New York, New Jersey and Washington, according to the FAA.
As of 10 p.m., 732 flights had been canceled at O'Hare, according to the Chicago Department of Aviation. There were also 81 flights canceled at Midway International Airport.
Earlier Tuesday, the FAA said: "Due to storms in the East, there are delays for flights arriving to O'Hare from the East Coast (JFK, La Guardia, Newark, Philadelphia, Baltimore. Wash Reagan and Wash Dulles). And there are delays for flights departing O'Hare for New York JFK Airport."
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Rockford men rescue elderly man trapped in flooded car
Elderly driver stranded by flood in Rockford rescued
On Monday, more than five inches of rain fell in Rockford. Storm drains in the area couldn't keep up. The floodwater was so powerful that it moved cars and stranded drivers.
Two men jumped into action Monday night to save an elderly driver whose car got swept away. Mark Pickett and Ryan Craig said they would do it all again.
"I really thought the guy was going to go under and die. So that's why we hurried up and ran over there to the car and had to figure out how to bust the windows to get him out," Pickett said.
The car wound up overturning in a swollen creek.
"He grabbed one arm and I grabbed the other and we yanked him out the back window. Like he said, no sooner as we got off, that trunk went down, turned sideways and went straight in," Craig said.
Craig has stitches on his hand from the broken glass, but said the adrenaline kept him from feeling any pain. The two best friends don't consider themselves heroes.
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Man on jet ski rides through flood waters in Roscoe
"I don't look at it as being a hero. I look at it as being two average guys who seen somebody in distress and had to help him," Pickett said.
The Rockford area got hit hard by a storm system that dumped heavy rain in a short period of time, sparking flash flooding. More rain fell Tuesday morning.
"It was terrible. It just down-poured constantly. I never seen it this bad," said Jeff Rieken, who lives in Rockford.
Roads were washed out, but cars tried to make their way through, getting stuck in high water. The parking lot of a Schnuck's grocery store near a McDonalds flooded, causing several cars to float away, including the car that ultimately wound up in the creek.
Residents said that creek is known to cause lots of problems when it storms.
"Even with them cleaning the creek out, that it still happens. But I think they just need to dig it deeper if they're gonna do it," said Joan Meyers, who also lives in Rockford.
There were no reports of any injuries or any major damage. Police said all the roads that were closed re-opened Tuesday.